Sapporo Ice Festival Train Availability

Hi all,

A group of friends and myself are planning to go to the ice festival in 2011. Part of the plan is that we will start in Kyoto, then take a night trip up to Sapporo (we will have a JR pass so it is probably cheaper than flying) the night before the festival starts.

I am wondering how the train availability is like during that time. Has anyone ever not been able to get on the train because it was too crowded, especially that close to the festival?

A group of friends and myself are planning to go to the ice festival in 2011.

It is called snow festival.

Part of the plan is that we will start in Kyoto, then take a night trip up to Sapporo (we will have a JR pass so it is probably cheaper than flying) the night before the festival starts.

Supplement fees start from 13,000 yen for the Twilight Express. Indeed, that might be slightly cheaper than discount airfares. An air pass would cost about the same, though:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2364.html

I am wondering how the train availability is like during that time.

That is a good question. The night trains tend to be busier than usual during the snow festival, especially on Friday evenings (in direction of Hokkaido) and on Sunday evenings (in the opposite direction). I believe there is a considerable risk that trains are booked out on multiple days during the festival. And reservations are not possible from overseas.

A group of friends and myself are planning to go to the ice festival in 2011. Part of the plan is that we will start in Kyoto, then take a night trip up to Sapporo (we will have a JR pass so it is probably cheaper than flying) the night before the festival starts.

Japan is an amazing country but they haven't invented time-travelling trains yet! :) I assume you mean 2012.

I am wondering how the train availability is like during that time. Has anyone ever not been able to get on the train because it was too crowded, especially that close to the festival?

The 2012 Snow Festival is Monday 6th through to Sunday 12th. I'm not sure what availability will be like but you should probably book as soon as you have your JR Passes if you do wish to go and you may need to be flexible with which exact date.

Another alternative to consider is to break up the journey north and south a little and use day trains. You could for example consider a trip from Kyoto to Tokyo (2h45m), overnight Tokyo, then train from Tokyo to Hakodate (6h30m), overnight Hakodate, then catch a mid-morning train from Hakodate to Sapporo (3h20m). You could do the same thing when returning (or catch an overnight train)

It is also worth noting that Sapporo gets very busy so you should book your accommodation well in advance, also be prepared to pay significantly increased prices at most hotels during the festival. If you are working on a budget you could consider day tripping in with your JR Pass from nearby towns too of course.

We used day trains when we went to the Snow Festival a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the journey. It does depend what else you want to see and how many days you have. We had two weeks and did Osaka, Tokyo, Hakodate, Sapporo, Otaru, Abashiri, Furano, Tokyo, Kyoto. This was a relatively fast pace of course but was fine for us.

What is the rest of your itinerary?

Thank you both for the feedback. After talking it over with my friends, we decided to fly to Sapporo from Osaka and use the discounted flight from ANA (we are arriving to Japan using Singapore Air Lines). We are also considering purchasing JR Hokkaido pass for 3 days to allow us to commute to nearby towns and other areas in Hokkaido. We will be in Sapporo for 5 nights.

Our itinerary is that we will be in Japan for about 5 weeks. We will spend the first few days in Osaka and Kyoto, then go to Sapporo. When we leave Sapporo, we will activate the JR rail pass (21 days) and go to Akita, Ogimachi, Fukui, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Miyazama, Miyajima, Matsuyama, Naruto, Kobe, Nara and Himeji. We will arrive in Tokyo just before the rail pass runs out. Most of the areas I have mentioned will be day trips, so it won't be too rushed. We are flexible on where we are going when we have the rail pass, it is Sapporo we are worried about as we know how busy it is. We are currently looking for accommodation already.

Hi, so happy you are going to Japan for holiday. Just a suggestion - for hotel booking in Sapporo - can try Art hotel Near Nakajima Koen subway. It is a hotel with onsen. It is a little hard to find a reasonably priced place with onsen. I was quite happy with my stay during the last Snow festival at Sapporo.

You can also consider a day trip to Otaru by train. It is a lovely little place.

hope you have a wonderful trip!! Always a joy to go Japan!!


Chibimaruko